


QUID PRO QUO

by ksstarfire



Category: Starsky & Hutch
Genre: Action/Adventure, Angst, Gen, partners
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-11
Updated: 2016-11-11
Packaged: 2018-08-30 07:12:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,594
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8523532
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ksstarfire/pseuds/ksstarfire
Summary: A little gen story of the partners.





	

“Hutch?” Starsky whispered into the radio.

“Yeah?” Hutch whispered back.

“You see anyone?”

“No, you?”

“No.”

“At least we’re inside instead of out in the rain tonight.”

“True.”

Starsky stood very still. The feel of a gun barrel jammed into his back always caused that reaction in him.

“Very carefully take out your gun and hand it to me butt first. I have nothing to lose now so killing you doesn’t really matter.”

He pulled his gun out and held it up over his shoulder.

“Good job. Now the radio.”

He passed it back as well.

“Put your hands behind you.”

He did as the man commanded him. He felt a cuff snap around his left wrist then his right. He was pushed, face first against the wall. He listened as the man spoke into the radio.

“Detective Hutchinson. I know you can hear me. I have your partner. Step out from where you’re hiding. Make a wrong move and he’s dead.”

Hutch thought about it for a few seconds, but knew he couldn’t risk Starsky being hurt. He put his hands up and stepped out into the dimly-lit corridor.

“Stop there. Toss your radio and gun behind you. Nice and easy.”

He could see the man standing behind Starsky. “You won’t get away with this, Hedges. Dobey knows we were going to stake out the evidence room tonight.” He tossed his radio and then his magnum behind him.

“Ahh, but Detective Hutchinson… by the time he realizes you two are missing, I’ll be long gone. Along with all that lovely coke you boys logged into the evidence room today. And even if he does realize you’re missing, he won’t have a clue as to where you are.” Hedges laughed.

“Now, head for the freight elevator. One wrong move and your partner’s dead.

Hutch walked toward the elevator. He heard Hedges pushing Starsky behind him.

“Push the down button.”

When the door opened Hedges told him to push the stop button then walk to the back of the elevator, take out his cuffs and cuff himself to the right rail there. He did as he was told.

Hedges pushed Starsky into the elevator. He kept his gun trained on Hutch while he uncuffed Starsky’s right wrist. “Cuff yourself to the left rail over here.” He indicated the rail furthest from where Hutch was cuffed. As soon as Starsky was cuffed, he stepped into the front of the elevator and pushed the button for the basement.

Starsky and Hutch looked at each other. Both shook their heads ‘no’ to the unspoken question of why they were being taken to the basement.

“You guys haven’t been around here as long as I’ve been. I bet you’ve never been down in the basement here before, have you? Well, at least not to the oldest part. I’m gonna enjoy giving you two the grand tour.”

When the elevator doors opened to the basement, Hedges pushed the stop button again to hold it there. He aimed his gun at Starsky and tossed the handcuff key to Hutch who caught it. “Uncuff yourself and step out of the elevator. I’m sure your partner will wait quietly for me to return.”

Hutch looked at Starsky then stepped out of the car. Hedges motioned for him to start walking toward an area of the basement that Hutch had never been in. The further they walked, the danker the air became.

“Where are we going Hedges?”

“Just keep walking. You’ll see.”

“Look, you’re not going to get away with this. Give it up now and maybe Starsk and I can tell the judge something in your favor.”

Hedges just laughed. “Why should I do that? This time tomorrow I’ll be sitting on a beach in a country without extradition, sipping on a tropical drink and spending all the money I’m going to make selling that coke back to the cartel you two stole it from.”

“You really think the cartel will let you live?”

“Yes. Because they won’t get the location of their coke until I’ve been paid and am in the air, halfway to my destination.

“See I’m smarter than you punk detectives.”

They turned a corner and came to a dark hallway. Hutch stopped, reaching toward the wall to find a light switch.

“Just keep walking. About ten feet ahead of you the hallway turns to the right. There’s a light switch there.”

Hutch took three steps. The next step found nothing under his foot. He was falling before he even had a chance to yell. His head struck the side of whatever it was he fell into. He didn’t feel landing in the shallow water at the bottom of the old cistern.

“One down… one to go.” Hedges headed back to the elevator and the second detective.

Starsky had tried everything to get loose from the railing. He had caused the cuff to cut into his wrist by pulling on it so hard. Neither it nor the railing would give. The more time passed the more he worried about Hutch. He heard Hedges coming back toward the elevator. He knew he couldn’t do anything until he knew what Hedges had done to Hutch.

“Your turn Starsky. Uncuff yourself. Don’t try anything stupid or I’ll kill you right now then go finish off your partner.”

Starsky caught the key that was tossed to him. He hoped Hedges was telling the truth and Hutch was still alive. He stepped out of the elevator when Hedges motioned him to.

Starsky noticed the musty smell of the air. “Where are we goin’?”

“Not too much further. Keep walking.”

“Maybe me ‘n Hutch could put in a good word for you..”

“Your partner already tried that. When you meet up with him, you can ask him what my answer was.”

They turned a corner and Starsky stopped in the darkness.

“Guess there’s no reason to keep the lights off now.” Hedges reached out and turned on the light switch.

Starsky blinked his eyes and saw the gaping hole in the floor in front of him. Before he could do or say anything he was hit from behind and found himself falling.

He landed on something soft and knew right away it was Hutch. But Hutch didn’t move or cry out.

“I’d love to leave you some light, but I don’t want anyone wondering why a light is on down here where no one ever comes.”

The light went out and Starsky could hear Hedges laughing as he walked away. He had scooted off Hutch and realized he was sitting in about four inches of cold water.

He quickly reached for Hutch and was relieved to find his head was above the water line. “Hutch? Can you hear me?” He ran his hands over Hutch’s head and felt a knot on the left side of his forehead. He could hear Hutch breathing. “Must’a hit your head on the way down.”

He pulled Hutch against his side and tried to figure out where they were. He’d never been in this part of the basement. He was pretty sure his partner hadn’t either.

When he reached to pull Hutch closer to him, he felt a bulge in Hutch’s jacket. He reached in and pulled out a flashlight. “If I ever griped about you being a Sea Scout, I’m sorry. I never will again. Now let’s see if this thing survived the fall.” He turned the light on and first checked out his partner. He saw a large bump on his right temple with a small trickle of blood running down his face. He quickly assessed him for other injuries, but found none.

Then he turned the light on their surroundings. They were in some kind of circular pit. The sides were metal and rusted out in many places. Water trickled in from openings near the top. He could barely make out what appeared to be some kind of valves at the top.

He turned the light out, fearful of using up the batteries and of Hedges coming back and seeing it. He waited about ten minutes and turned it back on. He made sure Hutch was propped up against the side and stood up to investigate further.

As he was standing near one side, water began pouring in from the opposite side. He quickly moved back to Hutch and pulled him more upright as the water rose quickly from four inches to six. As he moved him Hutch moaned.

“Hutch? Buddy? Can you hear me?”

“Starsk?” Hutch tried to move but fell back against the metal wall. “Where are we?”

“I think we’re in some old cistern. Water started pouring in a few minutes ago. Must have started raining again. You okay?”   
Starsky turned the light toward Hutch’s face.

Hutch pushed the flashlight away. “Yeah, bad headache and that light isn’t helping. Hedges?”

“I think he left.”

“How do we get outta here?”

“Not sure. You think you can stand?”

“Can try.”

Starsky turned off the flashlight and grabbed Hutch under his shoulders. He started to lift as Hutch tried to stand. Hutch cried out and fell back. “What Hutch?” He turned the light back on and saw his partner’s white face.

“My ankle. Hurts.”

Starsky moved the light to focus it on Hutch’s right ankle. They could both see it was swollen. “Can you move it at all?”

“Not sure I can make myself try.”

“Don’t try then.” He stood up again and moved over to inspect the wall opposite of them. He realized the water had risen another inch or two. “We gotta find a way outta here before the water gets too deep.” He continued to walk around the bottom of the cistern. He made note of where the rusted places were. It looked like a ladder had once hung on one side. 

“I think I might be able to climb up this side, Hutch. There’s rusted places, holes in the siding.”

“You’ll cut your hands to shreds Starsk.”

“You got a better idea?”

“Wait till this thing fills up and you can swim out.”

“And what are you gonna do?”

“I hadn’t thought that far ahead.”

“Well start thinking Buddy Boy, because no way am I leaving you.”

Starsky realized water was pouring in from different places now. The water was almost over the top of Hutch’s legs. He had to do something or Hutch would drown. Even as he thought that water began pouring in from another spot near the top.

“Hey, Sea Scout? Still got your knife?”

Hutch felt his jeans pocket and worked the knife out of it. “Here. You gonna cut up some wood… start a fire? Getting’ kinda cold in here.”

Starsky saw Hutch start to shiver. He quickly took off his leather jacket and cut the arms out of it. He waded over to Hutch and put the jacket over him. “Hey Buddy?” When Hutch opened his eyes and focused on him Starsky said, “I’m gonna wrap the leather around my hands and try to get out of here. I think I saw some rope when Hedges was herding me this way. I’ll grab the rope and pull you out. Can you hang on?”

“Yeah. Sure. P… p… piece of… c…c…cake.”

“Easy for you to say.” Starsky leaned down and rested his forehead against Hutch’s for a brief moment. “Keep that beautiful blond head above water for me okay?”

Hutch reached up and squeezed his shoulder and nodded. “T… t…try to.”

As much as he would have liked to leave the flashlight with Hutch, he knew he would need it to be able to spot the holes he was hoping to use to climb out. He quickly walked the perimeter of the cistern to look for the area that offered him the best chance of climbing out.

He wrapped the leather sleeves around his hands. He had to jump to reach the first hole and was glad of the coat sleeves as he felt the rusty metal dig into the leather. He had the strap of the flashlight in his mouth. As soon as he was stable, he let go with one hand and quickly moved the light over the surface above him. He spotted the next hole and moved to reach it.

Rusted hole by rusted hole he made his way up the side. He would stop now and then to call out to Hutch. Sometimes Hutch answered and others he didn’t. Water continued to pour in and Starsky began to send up wordless prayers for the rain to stop.  
His arms were shaking and he wondered if he would have the strength to finish the climb when he realized he could see dim light. He tried to hurry but was afraid of the rusty metal giving way and causing him to fall back to the bottom. So he tested each hold he had before he looked for the next one.

He was sweating from his exertions. His hands were sliding inside the leather. He hung there for a few minutes to catch his breath. “Hutch?”

“Yeah.”

He could barely hear Hutch, but at least he was still with him. He knew the water must be around Hutch’s waist by now. And the water pouring in didn’t seem to be slowing down any.

He looked up and realized he was only a few feet below the edge. He quickly spied his next handhold and moved himself ever closer to the top. A couple more moves and he was able to reach his arms over the top and pull himself up He laid there for a few seconds catching his breath.

He rolled over and called down to Hutch. When he heard a faint answer he yelled back. “I’m gonna find that rope I saw. I’ll be right back Buddy. Hang on. I’ll have you out of there shortly.”

He pushed himself to his feet and hurried back the way he had been forced to come. His legs protested but he pushed himself to move. He had only run a short distant when he spied the rope. Hoping it wasn’t rotten he grabbed it and rushed back to the room with the cistern.

“Hutch! Hutch!!”

“H… h…here.”

Starsky let out the breath he had been holding. The rope looked sturdy so he tied a loop in one end and wrapped the other end around one of the valves at the top of the cistern. They were rusted and he didn’t want to waste any time trying to break the rust off to see if he could turn them off.

“Hutch, I’m going to lower the rope to you. Slip it under your arms and I’ll pull you up. Okay Buddy?” He quickly lowered to rope over where he knew Hutch was sitting. “Let me know when you’ve got it!”

He continued to play out the rope until he felt a tug on the other end. “Slip it under your shoulders. Tug again when you’re ready for me to pull.”

A few minutes passed and he was getting worried. He wondered if he could climb down the rope and get Hutch and him back to the top. He was about to tie off the end of the rope when he felt a tug.

“Ok Hutch. Use your good leg as much as you can. I’m gonna start pulling.” Starsky began pulling the rope, using the valve to snug the rope around, He would pull then rest, pull then rest. He kept calling out to Hutch and listening for his quiet replies. He could tell when Hutch was able to use his good leg to help. Those times he tried to pull him up further.

He risked a glance over the side and saw Hutch’s pale blond hair reflecting the light from the flashlight he had placed at the edge of the cistern. “Just a little farther Hutch. Hang on. Almost at the top!”

As soon as Hutch reached the top Starsky grabbed him and carefully moved him away from the edge. He slipped the rope off of him and helped him sit up against the wall. “Hey? You still with me?”

“Yeah. Th… think so.” He stopped to catch his breath. “Thanks Starsk.”

“Welcome. Anytime. I’m gonna go find a phone and call for help. You sit tight.”

“I guess what they say about you two leading charmed lives is true. Good thing I came back to make sure you were both dead.”

Starsky stood slowly, putting himself between Hutch and the gun Hedges was holding. He watched as Hedges tossed two duffel bags to his side. “That the coke?”

“Yep. Getting ready to take it to its nice safe hiding place. But guess I’ll have to finish you two off first. Move away from Hutchinson.” He cocked the gun and pointed it at Starsky’s chest.

“Starsk? Help me…” Hutch staggered to his feet. “Starsk, I can’t see! Where are you? Who’s here?”

“Well this makes things a lot easier.” Hedges laughed and cocked the gun. 

As he pulled the trigger Hutch jumped in front of Starsky. The impact of the bullet pushed Hutch into Starsky who quickly rolled to the side. Starsky came to his feet and kicked the gun out of Hedges’ hand. He delivered a punch to his gut then a two-handed chop to the back of his neck, dropping him to the floor. 

“FREEZE!” Captain Dobey followed by five other officers ran into the room. He took in the scene in a glance. “Get Hedges out of here!” Three of the officers immediately cuffed the man and pulled him to his feet to lead him to a booking room. 

“Cap’n! Call an ambulance! Hutch has been shot!” Starsky dropped beside his partner. He saw the blood spreading across his chest. “Why did you do that Hutch?”

“Quid… Pro… Quo.”

“What? What does that mean? Hutch?”

But Hutch had passed out. 

Starsky kept pressure on Hutch’s wound until the EMS crew arrived. He moved aside so they could do their work, but never moved very far away.

“You okay Dave?” 

“Yeah Cap.” He pointed at the two duffels. “The coke’s in those. How’d you know where we were?”

“I saw Hedges carrying those duffels. I knew he was off today and had no reason to be here. So I grabbed some officers and followed him. I was trying to figure out how to stop him without getting either of you shot in any crossfire.” He glanced at Hutch. “Maybe I should have taken the chance anyway?”

Starsky rode in the ambulance with Hutch to the hospital. The staff there knew better than to try to separate them. So while the doctor worked on Hutch, two nurses cleaned out the cuts on his hands. They brought him a set of scrubs so he could change out of his wet clothes. He pulled the curtain in the corner or the room and changed there as opposed to leaving the room to use the men’s bathroom. As soon as he pushed the curtain back, one of the nurses stepped up with two syringes in her hand.

“What’s that?”

“One’s a Tetanus shot and the other’s an antibiotic shot.”

“Can’t you put ‘em in one shot?”

“Sorry, no.” She pulled the waistband of his scrubs down and gave him a shot on each side.

“Owww!”

“Grow up Starsky.” Captain Dobey had stepped into the room.

Starsky moved closer to the table where Hutch lay. The doctor didn’t seem to be rushing much. He thought they would have been moving him to the operating room by now. “Doc?”

“Your partner is a very lucky man. The bullet hit a rib which deflected it. It didn’t enter his body cavity. A few stitches and a dressing and I’ll have him moved to a room. He’ll need to stay overnight because of the blow to his head. We’ll put an ace wrap on his ankle. Nothing fractured there. I’m sure both his ankle and ribs will be sore for a while.”

Starsky and Captain Dobey both released the breaths they had been holding. 

“I’m going to head back to the station. I’ll get started on the reports. Call me if…”

“Will do, Cap’n. And thanks for showing up when you did.”

Dobey left as they were getting ready to move Hutch to his room.

***** 

They put both guys in one room. Starsky had a bed that he was supposed to be in resting, but he preferred to sit in a chair next to Hutch’s bed. He watched Hutch breathing. He talked to him. He was almost ready to yell at him to wake up when he saw his eyes open.

“Hutch!” He stood up next to his bed and put his hand on Hutch’s arm.

“Starsk?”

“You have a concusion, sprained ankle but the bullet was deflected by one of your ribs. No surgery.”

“Feels like there was.”

“Doc said a week and you should feel better. We both gotta stay on antibiotics for two weeks because of the stagnant water in the bottom of that vat.”

Hutch closed his eyes.

“Hutch?”

He opened them and looked at Starsky. “Yeah?”

“What does ‘Quid Pro Quo’ mean?”

“Tit of tat.”

“Huh?”

“You saved my life… so I had to save yours. I had to… to keep our universe balanced.”

Hutch closed his eyes and went back to sleep. 

Starsky moved over and got into his bed. He looked at his partner and whispered, “Since when do we keep score?”

Fin


End file.
